Letto perché da quando ho scoperto Il sistema periodico voglio (ri)leggere tutto quanto ci ha lasciato.
Inutile sprecare parole per tentare di descriverlo, leggetelo è meraviglioso: interessante nei contenuti, spassoso a tratti e scritto in una lingua stupefacente ricca di espressioni rubate al dialetto piemontese come parlare tricolore per indicare parlare in italiano.
Questa edizione contiene anche un contributo di Corrado Stajano e di Primo Levi, naturalmente è più interessante il secondo, incentrato sul rapporto fra i due mestieri di chimico e scrittore.
Conclusa la lettura si vorrebbe leggere Primo Levi e il piemontese. La lingua de "La chiave a stella" per comprendere ogni sfumatura del romanzo.

Read because since I discovered The periodic table I want to (re)read everything written by Primo Levi.
It's useless talking about this book, just read end enjoy it because it's wonderful: interesting plot, often funny and written in a marvellous language full of expression stolen from Piedmont dialect like parlare tricolore literally speaking tricolour that means speaking Italian.
This edition contains two brief articles by Corrado Stajano and the author himself, obviously the most interesting is the second focused on the link between the two professions of chemist and writer.
When the book is over you want to read Primo Levi e il piemontese. La lingua de "La chiave a stella" to understand better the expressions used in the novel.

A novel, in the form of dialogues between chemist and writer Levi and a rigger, exploring man's labour. In it we see Levi's view of writing and why he quit his work as a chemist to become a writer.
It was more interesting than I am making it sound!
A must read for anyone who likes Primo Levi.

A celebration of the dignity of work and those who enjoy their work. The author uses the characters of Libertino Faussone, a rigger working on major construction sites in different parts of the world, and the narrator, Levi himself, a chemist who specialises in paint technology, to show how skill, expertise, and pride in their work lift them beyond the satisfaction of merely doing a job to an acceptable standard into an almost fulfilling philosophy of achievement. The author explains in an afterword that Faussone is not a depiction of an individual, but rather a compound of similar men he has known.

In a series of connected stories the always talkative Faussone describes the work problems he has faced and how he used his experience and knowledge to find solutions – not always having such a high opinion of his workmates or managers. Finally the narrator is able to answer back with a story of his own about anchovies, tin cans, and enamel paint, which he tackles as a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes. It is a fine example of a skilled writer turning technical details of bevel gears, the chemical composition of paint, cable laying, and precision welding into a flowing, attractive prose.

The characters are also brought to life away from the workplace: the scheming of Faussone's aunts in Turin, trying to set him up with a girl he can marry; the drunken river trip in Russia with a bloke called Difference (Mr. Rasnitsa in Russian) and his rather scary mates; Faussone's memories of reluctantly helping his hard-working coppersmith father. It's a genuine celebratory depiction of the triumph of getting your hands dirty and your mind active.

Een conversatie tussen Primo Levi en gespecialiseerd kraanwerker Faussone; eigenlijk meer een monoloog van Faussone die vertelt over de ervaringen die hij tijdens zijn arbeid in de hele wereld heeft opgedaan. Heel apart gebruik van taalregisters met Faussone die in zijn spreektaal vertelt en Levi die af en toe in de geschreven standaardtaal wat zegt. Centraal thema is de liefde voor en het belang van "il lavoro". Interessant.

"Amare il proprio lavoro costituisce la migliore approssimazione concreta alla felicità sulla terra"
Stupendo.

São várias histórias contadas por um operário e ouvidas por um químico, que alimenta ambições literárias. Ambos lutam, solitários, em busca da eternidade. É uma verdadeira aula de como se escrever com leveza, com erudição, sem ser óbvio ou pedante. A selvagem liberdade do operário que se nega afastar do seu produto, para não se alienar, como um operário de linha de montagem que não sabe o que faz ou para que faz, apenas sente que perde. Ele faz a montagem de torres (derrycks), pontes, etc. Ele sabe que o seu patrão irá vendê-la por um bom preço, e não se importa com isso, desde que consiga o seu pagamento que considera justo. Luta a boa batalha pela perenidade e tenta atingir a perfeição impossível. Aprende com a solda a trabalhar no escuro e vence o perigo e o desconhecido. Assim como um trabalha e força o material a se submeter, o outro submete a palavra. Forja, junta uma na outra, e assim faz com que elas se submetam, contando uma história, deixando sua marca para o futuro. Ambos têm o sentimento ao seu lado, de alguma forma sabem que a razão é um animal indomável e que jamais irão domesticá-la, a não ser em breves e imperfeitos momentos. Tem orgulho de suas obras. Ambos transitam pelos degraus da criação, e juntos a um só tempo contam a história do mundo em que vivem. Aparecem por lá as primeiras mulheres verdadeiras, livres e fortes e dominantes, daquelas que futuramente dominarão o mundo. Parecem ser diferentes de todas que frequentam os romances até então. É acima de tudo uma obra romântica e sincera. De uma luta cuja vitória apesar de impossível no seu resultado é bela na sua essência. Homens e mulheres independentes e ferozes. Que lutam pelos sentimentos e não conseguirão jamais serem senhores da razão e da infinitude. Condenados como todos somos à perseguição do impossível.

Known as 'The Wrench' in England. It is a collection of short stories consisting of conversations between a chemist and writer (Levi) and a 'rigger' Libertino Faussone. Levi's books can be considered in pairs and the partner to this one is 'The Periodic Table'. Levi says in the last entry that Faussone was not one person but a composite of a number he knew over his life.

I thought this was going to be a Primo version of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and it sort of was, but not as directly as I'd have liked. Instead it mostly takes the form of stories told to Levi by a fictional rigger, most of which revolve around the joy of manual (but not routine) labour. I found it interesting for a while, but it got a bit samey, and some of the descriptions of the mechanical principles went on too long for me. I like Levi best when he's talking directly about things in his own experience, rather than fictionalising.

Favourite quotes: Paper is too tolerant a material. You can write any old absurdity on it and it never complains.

One of the writer's great privileges is the possibility of remaining imprecise and vague.

Though I took a break after starting this book, I really enjoyed this novel--a collection of stories from the same (fictional) Italian rigger/field engineer Faussone. Faussone relates how he left a poor Italian village and the trade his father wanted him to continue, namely copper beating/pots and pans manufacturing. Instead, Faussone discusses his work on bridges and power stations in Russia, India, Alaska, and elsewhere. Faussone is an authentic "do-er", and shows inventiveness as well as integrity in the jobs he does. Throughout it all, Levi uses these stories to show how important if relatively rare it is for people to really love their work. Two quotes, again flowing from compelling work stories:

"I really believe that to live happily you have to have something to do, but it shouldn't be to easy, or else something to wish for, but not just any old wish; something there's a hope of achieving."

and "...perhaps the most accessible form of freedom...and the most useful to human society consists of being good at your job and therefore taking pleasure in doing it."

Levi, who survived Auschwitz, also has a strong conviction that individual success depends more on the individual than the context or times. His characters also do not admire the lazy, foolish or parasitical with which they regard especially those who seek to tell people what to do without understanding the context or the challenges involved. A final quote in this remarkable and well constructed book to that point: "The mother of fools is always pregnant...".

A great book to read about the nature of work and one's usefulness.

To be honest, the book was only mildly interesting to me until the last few chapters. Sure Faussone's descriptions of his jobs are fun and his commentary on human nature is interesting, but it isn't all that captivating. It was kind of like humoring your uncle at a family gathering when he has a bunch of stories to tell you. However, Levi's description of his own profession was brilliant. The problem that he worked on was captivating. It's probably just because I identify with that line of work more that Faussone's. I'd say the book was overall worth reading just for that last section but the rest of it didn't impress me.

Così così. Struttura rigida e ripetitiva (ogni capitolo un racconto), caratterizzazione del personaggio Faussone un po' troppo piatta ed eccessiva, mancanza di vere riflessioni sul cambiamento del lavoro in quegli anni. Nell'insieme, piuttosto freddo.

"Amare il proprio lavoro costituisce la migliore approssimazione concreta alla felicità sulla terra". Ecco ciò che Primo Levi desume dal costante dialogo con Tino Fassone, tecnico specializzato, montatore.

Incombenze professionali fanno incontrare i due protagonisti in una lontana terra straniera che si rivela l’occasione per un scambio di riflessioni sul significato del lavoro. Fonte di realizzazione personale se vissuto con senso di responsabilità, onere e onore di cui farsi carico a piene mani per realizzare un’opera compiuta e ben fatta.

Le vicende di Faussone possono intendersi come una scuola di vita per coloro si stanno approcciando al mondo professionale. L’importanza del concetto di “malizia”, ovvero la sapienza che deriva dall’esperienza, lo stratagemma risolutivo. La necessità di confrontarsi e sopportare altri interlocutori: dal “cliente merlo”, che mette il becco e nulla sa; al caposervizio apprensivo che toglie il fiato e fa venire il “latte ai gomiti”.
E ancora l’obbligo di adoperare strumenti di controllo per verificare che il lavoro non sia fuori quadro e intervenire tempestivamente quando c’è un inghippo. Pena comune a tutti i mestieri, ancor più problematica per chi scrive. Perché spesso “se una pagina non va se ne accorge chi legge, quando ormai è troppo tardi”.

Ma è proprio nelle difficoltà che si raccoglie la sfida con maggiore dedizione e si assapora appieno “iI piacere di veder crescere la tua creatura, [...] che dopo finita la riguardi e pensi che forse vivrà più a lungo di te, e forse servirà a qualcuno che tu non conosci e che non ti conosce”.
Essere competenti nel proprio lavoro diventa sinonimo della libertà dell’individuo, artefice del proprio destino.